/vr/ - Retro Games

>>9771752
pack in title so lots of people played it and were wowed by its graphics. Memes aside, Miyamoto was right to point out that people might praise it more for its graphics that disguise mediocre gameplay.

>>9771754
But the gameplay isn't mediocre.

>>9771758
Mediocre doesn't mean bad.

>>9771759
It's good gameplay.

>>9771754
It's the same schizo who bring up the game being a pack in title every single time.

It has a different pace from Mario games, and if you get used to one or the other and then switch games, it feels really weird. DKC has a lot of looking and waiting, Mario has quicker movement.

>>9771762
It's serviceable and not particularly new or interesting

>>9771776
Every level having its own gimmick that increases in difficulty as the stage goes on was very ahead of its time in 1994.

>>9771784
that's game design by the book circa 1984, but that's what helps make the game so popular. It's not doing anything really alienating. Plus it came with the console.

>>9771786
>that's game design by the book circa 1984
Most platformer games are bland because they lack this kind of design. They focus on the character having different gimmicks but that isn't interesting if the levels are samey.

Being similar to the most popular game on the system is a positive anon.

>>9771790
All the popular ones you know have followed it to a T, even to this very day. Hell, popular games that you probably hate despite not having played also do it. It's the wheel of game design.

>>9771786
Guys correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think Donkey Kong is a green dinosaur...

>>9771794
>correct me if I'm wrong
here's the point where the snes finally started selling more than genesis

>>9771793
>All the popular ones you know have followed it to a T
Like Donkey Kong Country. They're popular for a reason.

>>9771796
yep, by not doing anything particularly interesting or inventive. that's dkc.

>>9771752
>Yes, I know that the gameplay, art, and music are amazing,

That pretty much covers it, yes. No, people were not tired of Mario-style games.

>>9771795
Nope, Donkey Kong is a green dinosaur.

>>9771803
this one coincided with the console declining in sales

>>9771798
By 1994 most platformers were obsessed with showing how totally cool and radical the protagonist is with dumb powerups and character gimmicks. DKC broke the mold by being traditional.

>>9771806
dkc is very much trying hard to be cool, hence the edgy redesign

>>9771810
It's easy to be cool when your game is good and you're a modified Battletoad. Not seeing the edgy part though.

>>9771814
It's very much corporate edgy

>>9771816
Donkey Kong Country doesn't look like either of those.

>>9771821
the hotdog cgi model still had a few more days to render out

>>9771752
>it's still very similar to Mario
Sure, it's a platformer but it was different enough. It had different style, different grace.
This has nothing to do with anything but I just love this cover, it's like fusion of the 80s and 90s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYxcmb9vqz8

>>9771803
I love how they added the SMRPG render.

>>9771752
> Why did people go so crazy for this game?
the pre-rendered 3d art was arguably better than any other game the ever existed at the time
> Yes, I know that the gameplay, art, and music are amazing
the gameplay, art, and music are amazing
> but it's still very similar to Mario and I thought people would roll their eyes at that.
...the best selling and most popular franchise at that time?

>>9771752
>Yes, I know that the gameplay, art, and music are amazing
There doesn't really need to be more to it than that. Early-to-mid 90s was chest-deep in platformers but the ones that did those things well stood out. It's that simple.

>>9771752
People say it is similar to Mario, but do you see a super mushroom in the game? What about a fire flower, a star man, a feather or a leaf? Do you break blocks with your head? Can you shoot fireballs? Can you fly? Can you go into pipes? No to any of those questions, because this game is really nothing like Mario other than it's a platformer, but there are many platformers. Is Sonic the Hedgehog "very similar" to Mario? Is Castlevania "very similar" to Mario? What about Megaman, is that "very similar" to Mario? Well?

>>9771752
>Why did people go so crazy for this game?
*bananas. they went bananas.

>>9771754
>Memes aside
>proceeds to parrot fake meme.

>>9771752
>it's still very similar to Mario
Not at all, and both physics and level design that accomplishes them is very different.

>>9771752
You say similar to mario like its a bad thing, most games were far below mario in game control, the typical game of the time was something like Ahhh real monsters. The game plays very close to mario world but with the addition of the roll jump which is nice while also being a bit faster, its also a little less slippery than mario. The majority of the games didn't have as good physics as mario, with about 10 exception such as sonic, earthworth jim etc.

>>9771776
Not my impression, how many games even had minecraft levels or even being able to control other characters. The stop go level was also very original and using a character to freeze water, chefs kiss.

>>9771923
You got a lot of that just with a different look. I would say sonic is similar to sonic while I would say pitfall the mayhen adventure is nothing like mario.

>>9771775
>DKC has a lot of looking and waiting


A lot of the waiting is due to waiting for the camera to scroll ahead. I hate that shit. I even wonder if it's something the SNES itself struggles with considering it's common to many games, Sparkster comes to mind.

In those days games with great graphics and sound values played like crap and had terrible design. DKC had the whole package, the graphics were a generational leap, the sound felt like CD quality, the gameplay was great and fast and the level design was great too.
I don't get people calling the gameplay mediocre, it's as good as Mario and Sonic and miles ahead the average platformer, maybe not as innovative as the graphics but certainly up there with the best.
It's just impossible to understand what it was like because the industry hasn't really evolved that much in decades, it's always just extra power, more polygons etc. But games just don't leap over what's before anymore like Doom, DKC, Mario 64 did. It was a time of great disruption.

>>9771752
>I thought people would roll their eyes
We didn't really do much of that in the early 90s, that's more of an Internet thing where everything is now "cringe"
it was a better time.

>>9772331
Yeah good point, things could still just be enjoyed unironically and without context.

>>9771752
> Yes, I know that the gameplay, art, and music are amazing

I don't understand what the problem is. It sounds like it checked all the boxes to what makes a good game good.

People still buy 2D sidescrollers now if you give them half a chance. It's a fun style of game. The notion that audiences were "done with that", was mostly pushed on them from the top down.
What's one of the most popular games right now? Oh yeah, it's a fucking Wario Land clone.

>this game is amazing and plays similar to what was the most popular game franchise at the time
>why did people like it?

>>9771752
>Why did people go so crazy for this game?
>I know that the gameplay, art, and music are amazing
That's why

>>9771754
He never said that.

>>9772349
>Wario Land clone
what game is that?

>>9771814
They were definitely toying with it with DK brandishing a boombox, and all of that stuff. That all comes across as goofy enough that you can write it off as self parody though.

>>9771754
>mediocre
I struggle to think of many games that executed one off level gimmicks with quite the same flair tbqh. ones I can think of are all dk 1994 tier classics.

>>9772374
Pizza Tower.

>>9771752
The music and the fact it was "entirely" CGI -- on the Super Nintendo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4EjGXRDOH0

That CGI animation sells it.
The music creates the fanbase.
Always include 10/10 music if you want a fanbase. Or porn, I guess.

Why did Japanese audiences go fucking nuts for DK but Sonic barely sold?

>>9772391
Just the opening alone shows that it's meant to be funny and self-aware.
>the game starts off slowly with a recreation of the old DK game
>suddenly the awesome music kicks in and the graphics step up
>Donkey violently enters knocking the old man out of the way and starts dancing like a fucking lunatic
>He's celebrating the game's presentation in the most stupid and over-the-top way possible because he's excited, and we're excited too
>Cranky strikes back with TNT and Donkey screams while his eyes comically enlarge

The comedy and self-awareness is what makes it different. It's not trying to be "90s cool", it's trying to be like classic animation, where the characters are idiots who are exploding with energy in-time to the music and can break the 4th wall.

>>9772782
Sonic did sell. It's just the the Megadrive was way less popular as a system than the SNES, and I think PC Engine too. Megadrive did better overseas than it did in Japan.

>>9771752
you though people would roll their eyes at the top selling IP / most recognizable\popular videogame of all fucking time?

dear zoomie,
the entire platforming genre tried to replicate its success

DK1 was solidified in history bc of the underwater theme music

>>9771752
It's Monky

>>9771752
>art
>amazing
That pre-rendered crap always looked terrible.

>>9773102
>>Tell me you're under 20 without saying you're under 20

>>9771754
this was a pack-in title so late in the system's life that I doubt it had any impact like you're suggesting. I'd actually forgotten this was ever a pack-in title.

>>9773102
Cope retard.

>>9771752
>>9771754
The gameplay IS better though. Super Mario World is boring to me because the level design is so easy. Donkey Kong Country keeps me entertained because of the challenge.

>>9773113
It was the best selling system bundle for a few years anon, DKC is fine but it's only as popular as it is because most new snes customers had it as their first game.

>>9773135
maybe. I please ignorance here. I had a SNES by 1992 so I never thought about the pack-in aspect.
I still think trying to undersell DKC is mistaken. Game was mind-blowing in 1994. I remember my cousin and I renting this and FF6 at the same time and spending about 95% of our time focusing on DKC. There was nothing else like it.

Ancient fag here. Got this for Christmas back in '94 when I was about 10.
Blew my away then, still love it today. I play DKC and its sequels every couple of years. It's more than nostaliga too, it really really does hold up.

Rear of the "Donkey Kong Crate". Came with a CD too, which was rubbish. Songs on it had zero to do with the game.

>>9773135
that's definitely not true and i don't think you were there. dkc was popular because it looks and sounds great, and is fun to play

>>9771752
>Why did people go so crazy for this game?

Because he Monke

>>9771752
Music and it was the other Mario for snes

That's all they needed because there was only quarter arcades back then and pc only had a few games

the problem is that a lot of autists and shitters had super mario world and could only afford one game all summer so until this day you see them shitting up the board with super mario world which is barely a platformer, designed for autists to find secret exits all day. every time i tried playing it i get lost going in circles trying to find even the normal exit to actually reach the next level let alone those faggy autist poorfar secret exists. donkey kong in comparison has better music, graphics, gameplay, humour, everything, but it is also simply more fun, you can always keep going forward and get to the end of the level and you know how to improve if you get killed. in super mario world you have forced difficulty because instead of content its designed for autistic kids to run around in circles all summer until they find the secret path that lets you actually progress. dkc is accessible to everyone including normal adults. it was something the whole family could watch and get involved with and have a go at, unlike smw which is for autistic loner little shits

never thought I'd see the words Super Mario World and forced difficulty in the same sentence

>>9773398
Did you get stuck in a ghost house?
You know it's a game for children?

1. It had A LOT of marketing thrown at it - and we all know in the gaming world that basically always works.Very marketable artwork for the time.
2. Very good music that made playing the game enjoyable.
3. "Revolutionary CGI graphics" (see 1.).
4. The gameplay itself was effective enough to keep people interested. (but really, see 1.)
5. Wide target demographics due to older gamers could be attracted by graphics, younger gamers by animals, and Japan market by big monkeys. (see 1.)

>>9773413
Kong appealed to teens more than Mario or Sonic because he looks more badass and chill.

>>9772349
Pizza Tower is most popular with zoomers who grew up playing games like Minecraft and Fortnite and clicker apps on their mother's hand-me-down iDevice. To them it's a novel idea, to the audience who grew up with platformers, they were mostly "done with that" by the time they went out of fashion.

>>9772273
>sonic is similar to sonic
The trick is to look at the colour of the arms.

>>9771752
The atmosphere. DKC came out in a time where people weren't constantly overstimulated, so DKCs smooth music and ambience still felt very immersive.

>>9771752
>Why did people go so crazy for this game? Yes, I know that the gameplay, art, and music are amazing,
You answered your own question.

>>9771752

It was the best looking game for a console ever. Also humor + charm + is fun.

>>9771752
>but it's still very similar to Mario
mario you just run and jump most of the time with the occasional spin.
with dk there is a bunch of moves, the kongs have their unique moves, could interact with each others and the bosses were actually fun.

>>9771752
>Why did people go so crazy for this game? Yes, I know that the gameplay, art, and music are amazing

>>9771752
>gameplay, art, and music are amazing
this is the reason, lots of soul

>>9771803
My used SNES jr wouldn't work with Yoshi's Island even though every other game worked fine. Turned out there was a gob of dried soda residue on one of the pins. I think it was pin 14 but it's been a while.

>>9771754
>people compare it to Mario
>miyamoto and his worshippers call the gameplay mediocre
So Mario has mediocre gameplay and graphics? I guess DKC is still the better game then.